Malawi Independence Order 1964

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1964/916
Year1964

1964 No. 916

AFRICA

The Malawi Independence Order 1964

23rdJune 1964

29thJune 1964

Immediately before 6thJuly 1964

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 23rd day of June 1964

Present,

The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in that behalf by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890(a), the Malawi Independence Act 1964(b) or otherwise in Her Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

Citation and commencement.

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Malawi Independence Order 1964.

(2) This Order shall come into operation immediately before 6th July 1964:

Provided that where the Governor-General has power by or under this Order to make any appointment, or make any order (other than an order under section 4(2) of this Order relating to any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom or any Order of Her Majesty in Council) or to do any other thing for the purposes of this Order, that power may be exercised by the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Nyasaland at any time after 29th June 1964 to such extent as may, in his opinion, be necessary or expedient to enable the Constitution of Malawi established by this Order to function as from 6th July 1964.

(3) Save where the context otherwise requires, expressions used in sections 1 to 18 (inclusive) of this Order have the same meaning as in the Constitution set out in Schedule 2 to this Order and the provisions of section 110 of that Constitution shall apply for the purposes of interpreting those sections as they apply for the purposes of interpreting that Constitution.

Revocations.

2. The Orders specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to this Order are revoked to the extent specified in column 2 of that Schedule.

Establishment of Constitution.

3. Subject to the provisions of this Order, the Constitution set out in Schedule 2 to this Order (hereinafter referred to as "the Constitution") shall come into effect in Malawi at the commencement of this Order.

(a) 53 & 54 Vict. c. 37.

(b) 1964 c. 46.

Existing laws.

4.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the existing laws shall, notwithstanding the revocation of the provisions mentioned in Schedule 1 to this Order, continue in force after the commencement of this Order as if they had been made in pursuance of this Order but they shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this Order.

(2) The Governor-General may by order made at any time before 6th January 1965 make such amendments to any existing law or to any Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom or Order of Her Majesty in Council (other than the Malawi Independence Act 1964 or this Order) having effect as part of the law of Malawi or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order as may appear to him to be necessary or expedient for bringing that law, Act of Parliament or Order into conformity with the provisions of this Order or otherwise for giving effect or enabling effect to be given to those provisions.

(3) Where any matter that falls to be prescribed or otherwise provided for under the Constitution by Parliament or by any other authority or person is prescribed or provided for by or under an existing law (including any amendment to any such law made under this section) or is otherwise prescribed or provided for immediately before the commencement of this Order, by or under the provisions revoked by section 2 of this Order, that prescription or provision shall, as from the commencement of this Order, have effect as if it had been made under the Constitution by Parliament, or as the case may be, by the other authority or person.

(4) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to any powers conferred by this Order upon any person or authority to make provision for any matter, including the amendment or repeal of any existing law.

(5) For the purposes of this section, the expression "the existing laws" means all Ordinances, laws, rules, regulations, resolutions, orders or other instruments having the effect of law made or having effect as if they had been made in pursuance of the provisions revoked by section 2 of this Order and having effect as part of the law of Malawi or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order or any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom so having effect by virtue of the provisions revoked by section 2 of this Order.

Existing offices.

5.—(1) Where any office has been established by or under the provisions revoked by section 2 of this Order and the Constitution establishes a similar or an equivalent office, any person who immediately before the commencement of this Order holds or is acting in the former office shall, so far as is consistent with the provisions of the Constitution, be deemed to have been appointed, elected or designated as from the commencement of this Order to hold or to act in the latter office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and to have taken any necessary oath under the Constitution:

Provided that—

(a) any person who under the provisions revoked by section 2 of this Order or under any existing law would have been required to vacate his office at the expiration of any period or on the attainment of any age shall vacate his office at the expiration of that period or upon the attainment of that age;

(b) if any person holds the office of Director of Public Prosecutions immediately before the commencement of this Order who was appointed to that office for a fixed period he shall vacate that office at the expiration of that period instead of upon the attainment of the age prescribed for the purposes of section 98 of the Constitution.

(2) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to—

(a) the provisions of section 7 of this Order; and

(b) any powers conferred by or under this Order upon any person or authority to make provision for the abolition of offices and the removal of persons holding or acting in any office.

(3) In this section "existing law" means such a law as is referred to in section 4(5) of this Order.

Citizenship.

6. Until Parliament prescribes the manner in which an application shall be made for the purpose of section 2(1), 2(4), 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), 3(4), 3(5) or section 6 of the Constitution, an application under that provision need not be in any particular form but the application shall be sufficient if it is made to the Minister responsible for matters relating to citizenship of Malawi and if it discloses the name, address and national status of the applicant and grounds upon which the applicant is entitled to registration under that provision.

Parliament.

7.—(1) The National Assembly constituted by the provisions revoked by section 2 of this Order (hereinafter in this section referred to as "the existing National Assembly") shall be the National Assembly during the period beginning with the commencement of this Order and ending with the first dissolution of Parliament thereafter.

(2) The persons who, immediately before the commencement of this Order, are the members of the existing National Assembly shall continue to be the members of the National Assembly and, as from the commencement of this Order, shall be deemed to have been elected to the National Assembly to represent the same constituencies as the constituencies for which they were respectively elected under the provisions revoked by section 2 of this Order, and shall hold their seats in the National Assembly in accordance with section 8 of this Order and section 39 of the Constitution.

(3) The persons who, immediately before the commencement of this Order, are the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the existing National Assembly shall continue to be, respectively, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly after the commencement of this Order and as from that time shall be deemed to have been elected as such in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and shall hold office in accordance with those provisions.

(4) The rules and orders of the existing National Assembly as in force immediately before the commencement of this Order shall, until it is otherwise provided under section 52 of the Constitution, be the rules and procedure of the National Assembly but shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring those rules into conformity with the Constitution.

(5) Subject to the provisions of section 57(4) of the Constitution, Parliament shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved on 25th May 1969.

(6) Any person who, under the provisions of this section, continues to be Speaker, Deputy Speaker or a member of the National Assembly after the commencement of this Order shall be deemed to have taken any necessary oath under the Constitution.

Qualifications and disqualifications for membership of National Assembly.

8.—(1) During the period commencing on 6th July 1964 and ending on 5th July 1965 any person who, being a member of the National Assembly immediately before the commencement of this Order, is not a citizen of Malawi may, notwithstanding the provisions of section 34(1)(a) and 39(2)(a) of the Constitution, hold his seat in the Assembly, but any such person shall, if he is not a citizen of Malawi on 6th July 1965, vacate his seat in the Assembly on that day.

(2) Until Parliament otherwise provides in pursuance of section 35(4) of the Constitution, a person shall be disqualified for membership of the National Assembly if he holds or is acting in any public office or he belongs to any of the armed forces of the Crown and, for the purposes of this subsection, a person shall not be considered as belonging to the armed forces of the Crown by reason only of the fact that he is in receipt of a pension or other like...

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